#low stakes high reward kinda writing

[kemendin]

There is something immensely satisfying about rereading a WIP fic over and over. Reminds me that I’m writing for ME, and how much I’m enjoying this feeling of crafting images and emotions. And for whatever reason it’s particularly potent with this BG3 fic, I’m rereading and going ‘hell yeah these are GOOD words here!’

[booasaur]

Did you watch the new promo clip? With Cruz, Joe and Kaitlyn? 1x07 is going to make me cry, I just know it. T_T

Oh, I did, I was just giffing it.

I'm a little surprised both that they released a clip that reveals so much and tha by this point in ep 7, some pretty big stuff's already gone down? That Cruz and Aaliyah have talked about their relationship, possibly even more when the transmitter was off, that Kaitlyn and Joe know about it.

I guess I'm used to much slower pacing for this kind of thing, or just less things happening at all. But I have to remember, the ship isn't the thing here, it's just a device to up the stakes and frankly, is just as soapy as the rest of Taylor Sheridan's writing.

I'm still so shocked that I'm watching this unfold on a Taylor Sheridan show and as much as I know it's going to end badly, I just want to say up front, when it does, I will still be incredibly sad and angry! I'm not gonna take a single lesson from this!

Also, I have to say, I'm pissed that we're having to watch THIS show to get this kind of central fanficcy ship, what's everyone else doing? There's a reason it's grabbed so many people so quickly, actually, my friend binged all the eps this week and while she had many criticisms of the show and writing itself, lol, she did have this to say about the ship itself:

It's kinda normal to have this ..... draw. To stuff like this. Okay yeah, it's because these are very beautiful women, absolutely. But secondly, there is something about a storyline with high stakes and real leverage. And I don't mean the high stakes IN the story, but outside of it, right, the meta high stakes. That all odds are stacked against them, it seems 100% like this won't work out, that one of them or both will be killed, with a shitty ass writer, and so forth. But then the reward would be so insanely high, right, this golden ass trope of an asset and a mark falling in love and there's this deception and the hurt puppy backstory and the misogyny and they're fully main characters and the main story

And that was a good point, right, that part of the draw IS the high possibility that it won't work out and yet every one of us is hoping against hope that it'll still be okay. The true will they/won't they, surprise stories, those are the ones that feel so much more rewarding when they work out than being told up front, this is going to happen or even when you watch after a show's finished, knowing they're endgame. That is its own kind of comforting, but as much as the lows don't match the potential lows of watching live, the highs don't either.

Although, not to say that other shows haven't done anything, NCIS Hawai'i is still there, hell, Shelter right now? I'm kinda really digging it! I'm still on the fence about The Afterparty but I think at this point, I'm going in and adding to the gif list. Of course Harley Quinn! But I'm still way behind, I never did catch up from s3. :x

[markoftheasphodel]

Was thinking non-randomly today about sickfic (the spouse got the sniffles on Sunday, passed it to me, this week sucked).

I like sickfic... in theory. In practice, low-stakes sickfic tends to be kinda gross because the “caretaker” character doesn’t act like any sort of plausible human being. Like, again and again I’ve read one-shots wherein the caretaker character is going Defcon 1 over... a cold. The sniffles. And I can understand why, in that maybe the author wanted some lower-stakes fluff or just didn’t feel like doing the research on a Sensitive Subject to get their sick/comfort fix, which is fine. But if the caretaker is wringing their hands over the sniffles, that’s neither helpful to the sickie nor appealing to me wrt to identifying with the caretaker. It’s WEIRD.

And so regardless of how the sickie reacts, weirdo behavior from the caretaker just kind of torpedoes it for me. Makes me suspect the author has never actually been in any sort of plausible relationship outside of a fucked-up family unit... which, you know, some people haven’t, but do your research on PEOPLE who aren’t you if you’re gonna write about people?

And then high-stakes sickfic is super-rewarding when done right but can be done wrong in so many ways, not least because fiction/media perpetuates so many terribad ideas that a lot of people assume are accurate because they’re everywhere.

Meeeeeehhhhhhh.

[jenniferstolzer]

Buffy episodes 7 - 9

I’m going tt actually have time to watch this dumb show today b/c the house is empty. Praise the lord. 

Episode 7 Lie to Me... or as the font on the dvd menu looks “Lie to Die” 

Spike’s girlfriend is being creepy to a kid. She’s the best. What is her name? Pricscilla? I don’t even remember. Angel to the rescue! He’s trying to save his kids. 

Ms Calendar and Giles are going on a date and they’re so cute. He’s like “I don’t do surprises. What would I wear?”

Now everyone’s in the BAngel camp, even Giles. 

“Marie Antoinette careda bout them. They were going to let them have cake!” No Cordelia, she was not. 

Xander is so insensitive.

“That’s Angel, Buffy’s special friend.” Xander

“Is he at school? He looks older.” Ford

Xander “YOU’RE NOT WRONG!”

Ford comes over after she kills a vampire and is like “Hey, what’s up?”

Angel’s jealous. He’s also wearing some wicked Lipstick this episode. Willow is also wearing makeup to bed. Teens, am I right?

“Ms Calendar and I are going ... someplace. Here is the number of her... beeper... thing... in case you need me.” Giles is adorable. 

Did Xander just call Willow a cow?

They went to a vampire bar. “These people are making up stories about friendly vampires to comfort themselves in the dark.” Then a guy dressed exactly like Angel comes down the stairs. That’s great. 

Druscilla then. We know an awful lot about people’s private lives. This ep is a lot of worldbuilding.

“I’ve known you for two minutes and I can’t stand you, I can’t really feature you living forever.” Spike is the best.

“Who is Druscilla? And stop lying to me, I’m tired of it.” Good job Buffy!

“I love you, but I’m not sure if I trust you.” Buffy’s on fire today.

“Thats’ up to me to descide!” GOOD JOB

Wow, Angel...

Ford “Hey Buffy! I had a good time last night.” He says in the most evil way possible.

Buffy’s being way perceptive but not perceptive enough to avoid a trap.

“You are playing in some serious traffic here” that’s a great line. 

“You look like a big ninny.” Who are you, Dr. Smith?

I’m glad she explained the demon aspect to Ford. He’s got plot cancer though and will die in six months, so he thinks it’s okay to kill lots of people. He thinks because he has a headache it invalidates right and wrong. “I don’t have a choice.”

“You do have a choice. It’s not a good choice, but you have it.” Buffy is ON FIRE.

And everyone gets mercilessly eaten... or not. Ugh I thought this show had teeth for a moment :( 

No! Buffy! Why didn’t you stake her? She’s evil and her life is torment. I mean I want her around b/c she’s great, but the door was gonna lock behind you, just stake her and go.

Ford “Well? What about my reward?”

“You mean dying pretty? Coming right up.”

This episode is trying to be mature, not in its behaviors but in its thinking. Punctuated by the talk Buffy and Giles have at the end. Then Ford comes back to life and she stakes him in one second before continuing their conversation like nothing happened. This is a statement moment for the show, yes. Also that might be my favorite minute and a half of the show so far. Buffy asks Giles for a nice lie, and he describes what the show potentially could be, but because he frames it as a lie he’s letting everyone know this is changing into a different kind of show. Stakes are raised (literally for the joke, emotionally for the show) and there will be real danger, but there’s humor as well. This ep was a little odd but did mark a tone shift from what I’ve seen so far. On to the next. 

Ep 8: The Dark Age

No cold open on this one. 

“I need to see Giles.”

“Giles is our librarian. Next building over first door on your left.”

Also it’s 3am and he’s probably at home.

Cut from death to jazzercize. What a transition. All my faves never like dance music. :(

I love Ms Calendar and Giles, but she’s kind of mean to him. Now she’s propositioning him for sex. Getting a weird vibe on her? “Let’s see if I can make you squirm.” Giles: SQUIRMING RIGHT NOW THANK YOU.

And Giles is met by lady cop. Morgue guy isn’t very sensitive when Giles is here to identify a body.

Oh no Phillip has the mark of thorn! Or it’s on his arm so I guess it’s the mark of voldamort? 

Blood shipment bust. Angel comes to help. She’s like “You want to make sure the hospital gets the rest?” Angel has a look on his face like “You want me to starve”

Poor Giles is having a hard time. He has to call next of kin? Dierdre we already know is dead b/c the beginning. AW, he’s gonna cry! Oh Giles. All your friends are dying in a hurry. And he’s drinking now too. We know Ethan has a stupid magic curiosity shop, I guess we have to chase him down. 

GILES ALSO IS A DEATH EATER. 

He washes his face and looks up into the mirror without glasses and it’s like ...

Xander you continue to be the worst thing in the world.

Cordelia “He seemed perfectly normal yesterday when I saw him talking to the police. Something about a homicide?”

Costume guy has returned as he promised. I’m surprised it was so soon

Omg Giles and friends summoned a demon. 

ETHAN PUT BUFFY BETWEEN HIM AND PHILLIP what a snake! Although it’s probably the safest course of action, she’s a monster and the zombie is after her. It’s very convenient they have a cage in the library. They use it a lot.

“You put these people in danger. People I care about.”

Guess that cage isn’t as good at being a cage as it should be. It’s good that he didn’t melt on the books I guess. 

Giles is like “Lean on me.” and I’m like “Too bad she’s probably evil now.... yeah she’s got a demon in her.”

Giles is sans glasses and wild.

“How do you feel about digging through Giles’ personal files?”

“I feel pretty good about it. Does that make me a sociopath?”

omg Xander knows he’s the worst? And he doesn’t care that he’s the worst. He’s the worst.

Temporary host turn to permanent vessel. Ms Calendar rips the phone out the wall. “You can take advantage of me in my weakened state.” Then she tries to force him. She says “You are like a woman Rupert.” I hate this show.

The demon talking out of Jenny’s body is a nice touch. Giles is gonna lose all his friends AND his girlfriend. 

Ms Calendar jumps out the window... it really was the mark of thorn. 

Giles “I’m sorry.”

Buffy “Don’t be sorry, be Giles.”

omg Giles was a rockstar :) Studying history at oxford and the occult by night. Summoning demons for a high. 

“I don’t know how to stop it without killing Jenny.” he says, nearly sobbing. Poor broken babydoll. I love how much Buffy loves him, although “I’m sorry”/”I know” lacks that little reassurance he would probably like.

Uhoh Buffy’s getting a tat!

Willow is still the best.

Buffy is insanely lucky there was that exposed screw on the bottom of that table. i’m sorry the demon didn’t kill Ethan anyway. If removing the tattoo solves the problem why didn’t everyone get tattoo removal?

ANGEL CAME IN WITHOUT BEING INVITED.

He also absorbed a demon. This is probably bad.

Or not? Angel’s demon is apparently a kickboxer. Makes it easy!

“Now I have to blow my entire allowance to get this tattoo removed.” she says, wearing a backless shirt.

Jenny’s gonna break up with him. Like, you were a technomage in a previous ep Calendar. It’s okay that she’s traumatized though, not saying it’s not. Anyone would be. I’m just saying that blaming Giles is not really fair. 

Buffy “I’m so used to you being the grownup, but then I found out you were a person.”

Giles “Most grownups are.”

Episode 9 What’s My Line Prt 1

So Drusilla is sick? Her madness?

“It looks like latin but it’s not latin. It’s not even a language.”

“Then MAKE it a language!” 

Spike I don’t think that’s how writing works lol.

Angel’s standing tehre in Buffy’s house (not invited) holding Gordo the Pig so cute b/c he looks scared. Buffy’s like “You okay?” and I’m like “No, I had a demon fight in my head and it’s been kinda rough.”

“We could be normal kids.”

“I’ll never be a kid.”

“Okay, a normal kid and her creepy cradle robbing boyfriend.” 

Xander’s assigned to be a prison guard. I can see that. He’ll make good money sitting around being unhappy and low-key rude to everyone. 

She’s crying for help, Giles. Be a councilor.

Spike is calling in the Order of Bullshit to kill Buffy. Cant’ wait.

Xander stop insulting Snyder. He’s ferengi. He’ll embezzle you to death.

“You’re worthless, Harris. Everything that comes out of your mouth its a toxic event.” Wow. Snyder. My man. You read Xander like a queen. You and me, Quark, you and me.

Willow apparently scored the Stark internship. Cue meetcute with Joker.

Buffy’s pissed that she was picked to be a cop. Then GIles points out that being a cop woudl be a good gig for her. She’s pissed but... yeah... Dresden that nonsense up.

Norman Fister with beautiful skin care.

Buffy’s skating and when the vampire picks her up by the neck she puts her feet straight in the air. So much core strength!!! Figure skate to the throat!

People need to tell Buffy what’s going on. None of this “Get out of here and hide while I take care of it.”

Okay the “I didn’t even notice” thing was super cute. This is the kinda stuff that will turn me into a BAngel.

Omg Fister was a meal worm man.

Buffy goes and curls up in Angel’s bed. Its sad and cute. Life’s hard as a slayer.

Angel doesn’t need to shake this yahoo for information. Idiots know that Spike got this assassin after Buffy. Oh he’s doing this so they can have a fight in this restaurant set. I dig this chick vampire’s Jamaican accent although I suspect it’s not authentic. 

Xander and Cordelia are hanging out a lot. 

Women are apparently weak for free skin product. 

Chick fight means you use your fingernails? At least scratch out her eyes.

She is Kendra the Vampire Slayer!

omg cliffhanger :) Gonna have to come back later for this one. 

[nikumuchi]

Mass Effect 2 Review

Amazing presentation and much more streamlined compared to the predecessor. But as comfortable as the simplification is, the complexity of the first game, including its story, feels much deeper and more stimulating. The cutscenes are incredible. Even the talking parts are visually interesting. There are a lot of interesting set pieces but also a lot of underdesigned levels. It's dull to take cover, shoot everything that moves, advance and repeat. Maybe the level designers wanted you to be more aggressive and fight at the front. But the game is over when Shepard falls. So it's basically high risk but no reward. Your team mates can't use medigel on you. They should be a little more intelligent to back you up when you are playing dangerous. Or better yet there should be an option how they should behave. Like using techs and biotics nonstop. The story is kind of bareboned but there is nothing wrong with a simple premise per se. The design and the writing of the characters make them memorable but everyone feels rather isolated. You get a feel for the individual, but they do not play off each other. A few don't get along, which also doesn't help to consider everyone a team. I think the main threat is not established well enough. Or should I say: Not early enough... visually. Words don't cut it. You need to witness the devastation first-hand a lot sooner for better emotional throughline. And I didn't believe for a second this was a "suicide mission". You should be on the clock to get a better grasp of what's at stake. No one comments on your leadership when you take your sweet time traveling around. If compared to Mass Effect 1 a lot of elements are... I wouldn't say missing but abscent from the sequel. Most notably regarding the equipment. There is no need to prepare because the micro-management has been significantly reduced. You have to collect ammunition but there is way less items to gather. No omni-tools, no omni-gel, no armor or patches. As a result of that you cannot sell stuff, which means money is rather tight. On the other hand it makes more sense that you level up after a mission. You can still explore the galaxy and visit planets that aren't critical to the main mission. It's awesome that you can read about chemical and physical properties of planets and also that you can fly around instead of selecting everything from a menu. But you cannot drive around on the surface because there is no vehicle. All areas including the cities look and feel smaller in size - especially the Citadel. On the other hand the copypasta from the first game is gone. Could it be that there are fewer quests? Well, it's not like there is not enough content. The structure is a little repetitive and predictable. You recruit all new team members, help them sort out a personal problem to gain their loyalty and then embark on the main mission. In between you scan some planets and collect resources. I know these loops are inherent to game design but they are very transparent in this case. It consists literally of the sum of its parts. I find the emotional resonance from the narrative rather lacking. It is too cold. This can be tracked back to weak direction. It should be a big deal to meet your old team members again. A little sentimentality is called for here. Kaidan/Ashley and especially Liara are a huge disappointment in my opinion. I found myself not caring all that much what's going on in particular missions and wanted to go back to the shooting - which is untypical for a script kiddie like me. The game is very easy (I played on normal) so that you don't have to think or pay attention. You do not have to understand the mission objectives or what's at stake to follow it through. If you wanna be a paragon, you pick the upper dialogue choice. If renegade the lower. No exceptions. Reading the option itself is negligible. You can equip whatever to everyone and will be fine, which feels inconsequential and that's a problem. They neglected to provide gamepad support, which I can't understand since it was developed for the XBox. You have to install a mod to have it reinstated. With that it is perfect to play and feels wonderful. There are a couple of graphical glitches that make characters jump around in the frame. No disaster, really, just funny and a bit immersion breaking. Somehow I got stuck on a ledge twice in different places where I couldn't get off, only after I reloaded the checkpoint. And then there was this one time Shepard's model was facing in the opposite direction. Opening the menu fixed it. Also some lines are repeated twice in a row, which is kinda funny. Maybe it's due to my low cpu speed. Or it's the aforementioned mod, I don't know. The game is very stable otherwise. The german localization is top-notch but there are some issues. Sometimes the subtitle has problems with punctuation and shows blank symbols instead of commas. And the spoken word differs from the captions in a few places - sometimes drastically. Bottom line, it's a fun game but not so much an RPG anymore. It is dumbed down and therefore more accessible, which means easier to play and to like. But it doesn't challenge your wits nor your heart.